Billingsly Castle

So far, I've set all of my novels in Georgia - more specifically metro Atlanta - because that's where I grew up. I know the feel of the region: the textures, the tastes, the smells, the runny, gummy humid heat of it. I can write about it with familiarity. I flavor the landscape with both real and imagined places, relying on Georgia landmarks to add realism, and using made-up restaurants and stores here and there to give myself more creative flexibility.

I love my Georgia; I love living in it, and I love writing it. But there was just no way Delta Brooks's mother was going to allow her only child to be married locally. Ha! Mike and Delta's wedding in Keep You had to be exotic, and because I want to go there myself, I picked Ireland. Billingsly is an example of one of my fake locales: fake name, fake history, but inspired by real five-star castle resorts. Ashford Castle in Mayo, on Lough Corrib, was a rough inspiration for the location of my fictional Billingsly Castle.

Click on the lick below to go to the home page (it's gorgeous!) and turn up the volume on your computer if you want to hear the Irish background music.

http://www.ashford.ie/index.html

 

And check out Keep You at Amazon.